HARRY here, I share the same birthday with John Buscema. At the age of 9 my father handed me HOW TO DRAW COMICS THE MARVEL WAY... the MARVEL way was to a large degree Buscema's way... He illustrated that book. I traced every single line he drew in that book and it looked terrible. I tried over and over and over and over again. I wasn't alone. It seems everyone I know traced some Buscema work at some time in their childhood. I remember the first time I went to Robert Rodriguez's house he showed me a SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN that he had traced every line of John's stunning work. Over a year ago he sent me that drawing. Robert loves that work... he learned to draw to a large part due to Buscema's work in that Magazine. Then he got that video camera.
When Jack Kirby passed away I thought, well I've still got John out there... now... whew... This one hurts bad folks. John Buscema's work on SPIDER-MAN, FANTASTIC FOUR, CONAN and THOR was primal for me. Hell the man drew my favorite cover of all time with SILVER SURFER #4...
Just look at the ferocity in Thor's face and the determination in the Surfer's... Just, folks I can't tell you how many times I read my copy of Surfer 4. It was just one of those covers... a cover that literally felt like a freeze frame of a brilliant imagination. I know he played out that scene. Moved the frame back and forth in his head until he narrowed it down to the moment... that specific moment and god.... can't you just see the moments before and the moments after the one above. Can't you hear the screams, the sound of the hammer twirling... God... It's just beautiful composition... My absolute favorite super-hero cover. Just perfect. I love that!
I met Buscema a number of times in my life at various conventions. He never hesitated to do a sketch, to cease smiling and always dazzled with stories. Buscema lit my imagination from the youngest of ages... He brought the world of Conan and Thor to life in my mind. His battles, the fierce raging expressions on the faces of the combatants... the way he cluttered these massive battles with unique figures of all sizes and shapes yet always managed to make it make sense and look compelling... I mean, I'd pour over those scenes looking for the little things... an inexplicable fly buzzing away from it all... the flower still untrampled. Buscema cared about these scenes... Made me care about these scenes.
He is and will always be one of the greatest comic artists of all time. I drank out his illustrated cups, played with MEGO dolls that he illustrated the box art for, I had posters he drew on my wall, comics memorized he made.... Stickers... oh lord the stickers. I covered furniture, my bedroom door, the window sill, the bed frame, my television. Much of it was his work... some was Romita and some was Kirby, but when I was a kid reading, Buscema was the man drawing at the time I was getting the new issues. And he had me coming for multiple titles every single week of the year.
Yesterday was a really great day for me till I heard this news. I had received the first review of my book, one from Kirkus Reviews and the really gave it a positive buzz. I was happy as hell. Calling folks up, sending out emails with quotes from the damn thing. All jazzed up, its the first time that something I did was being reviewed by an industry standard and it was a damn good review... and then John Buscema died and my day went to hell. The only thing that cheered me up was leafing through old issues here at home. So many today know only the current hotshots bopping around, I find a lot of it overdrawn and ill-composed. Buscema had it nailed perfect. Capturing perfect moments and stances. You can see his figures and poses all through Alex Ross' work. You can see it in so many of the modern guys, but damn if I don't just love John's more and more. Well, an artist can't draw forever I suppose...
Hello Harry,
I know your a comic book fan..so..I just wanted you to know that we have been asked by the family of John Buscema to announce the sad news that John passed away on Thursday, January 10.
Those people living in the New York City area can find information about the funeral services by visiting the Official John Buscema Website at... CLICK HERE
And anybody who would like to send their condolences to the Buscema family or share their thoughts & feelings about Big John & his artwork can do so by writing to... JohnBuscema2002@Yahoo.Com
Thank-you,
Owen
Some thoughts from Father Geek...
This hits me pretty hard! As many of you long term readers know I (Jay Knowles aka Father Geek) was in the comics secondary sale business fulltime, bigtime, for many years (1968-1998). The family traveled coast to coast buying, selling, and trading comics and comic art, and even a few ol' movie posters and animation cels.
The point is that the "1st" comic title Father Geek took home to keep (as in NEVER sell) was a pristine mint run of SILVER SURFER 1-18, plus FANTASTIC FOUR's #48, 49, and 50. I loved John's work on that very important title. As a matter of fact I just bought Harry a NM copy of Surfer #1 for Christmas 2001, an absolutely great issue by John.
Yeah, he (John) started me collecting comic runs, later I packed away a complete run of ALL Jim Steranko's work, then Barry Smith's CONAN, and Wrightson's SWAMPTHING. Then the floodgates opened and I put together mint runs of all the superhero issues of TALES OF SUSPENSE, JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, STRANGE TALES, and TALES TO ASTONISH. Next was a run of the 1st 23 issues of MAD and various bondage cover Golden-age Fiction House and Fox titles. Then EC's...But no matter how much of the expensive stuff I exposed myself to, I always went back to John, he had a purity of product that was unmatched...
Then I was really hooked, a depraved comicbook junkie, searching desperately for my next fix, and waiting right on time every week, clocking at the corner drug store was John Buscema. Colorful, flashy, teeming with the promise of strange adventures and forbidden pleasures, John pulled me ever deeper into the seedy dark, closeted world of comic collecting. I tried to quit several times, going cold turkey for a couple of weeks at a time, but I'd see one of John's covers on a stand (spinrack) and it would whisper in my ear; "Pick me up kid!" "Come on, just one more time can't hurt you."
John was an insidious comicbook pusher, once he got his claws in you, got your attention, you were doomed! I had to sell my dupes and hook unsuspecting college and High School kids to support my own growing, out-of-control habit. We now have over 75 long comic boxes stuffed very tight with Golden-age, Atom-age, and Silver-age comic books in the Geek Headquarter's archives...
Annnnnnnnnd its all JOHN BUSCEMA's fault! GOD BLESS HIM!!!
Father Geek out... I've got to shoot-up some old friends.
Here's the Offical Marvel Comics Press Release on John's Passing...
John Buscema, 1927-2002, Revered Comic Book Artist for Marvel and DC Comics
January 11, 2002, New York, NY -- Legendary comic book artist John Buscema of Port Jefferson, NY, passed away January 10, after a battle with stomach cancer. Buscema was instrumental in the early visual styling of Marvel Comics and worked for both Marvel and DC Comics. During his time at Marvel, Buscema's illustrations graced the pages of virtually every title, including Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, and Conan.
Born December 11, 1927 in Brooklyn, NY, Buscema attended the High School of Music and Art and Pratt Institute, where he studied life drawing and design. Ultimately, Buscema's studies landed him a job at Marvel Comics, then Timely Comics, in 1948. After a stint in advertising, Buscema returned to Marvel Comics in 1966, at the specific request of then Editor-in-Chief Stan Lee.
Buscema became one of the artistic pillars of the young Marvel, tutoring countless young artists, as well as co-writing with Lee How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way. Many of today's top comic book artists cite Buscema as one of their chief influences.
Lee commented on the death of his longtime collaborator, "John Buscema was far more than one of our finest comic book artists. If Michaelangelo had elected to draw storyboards with pencil and pen, his style would have been close to that of Big John's. But, even more than a superb illustrator, John also was a brilliant visual storyteller. Thinking back on all of the strips that we had done together, I had only to give him the briefest kernel of a plot and he would flesh it out with his magnificent illustrations so brilliantly that the stories almost seemed to write themselves. Happily, the legacy of artwork that my dear friend, the creative giant that was John Buscema, leaves behind, will bring wonder and enjoyment to generations of readers to come."
Joe Quesada, current Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics, said, "I remember how captivated I was as a young comics reader by the power of John Buscema's artwork. Even at a young age I knew I was looking at something created by an artist whose skill level was so much better than that of his contemporaries. I had the pleasure about three years ago of meeting Mr. Buscema in the Marvel offices, and he was as powerful a presence in person as his work was on the printed page. We will all miss him."
After thirty years at Marvel, Buscema began working for for DC Comics, drawing Batman in the anthology title Batman: Black & White. His most recent published work was, touchingly, with Lee, in Just Imagine Stan Lee with John Buscema Creating Superman.
Mike Carlin, Executive Editor at DC Comics, said, "It goes without saying what a privilege it was for DC to have tapped the legendary team of John Buscema and Stan Lee to reimagine Superman just one year ago... and a singular thrill to edit anything John worked on. Sadly, as it's proved to be their final collaboration, it's even more important a personal pleasure to have been a small part of it."
At the time of his death, Buscema actively was working on projects for several publishers.
Buscema is survived by his wife, Dolores, son, John Jr., his daughter, Dianne, and four grandchildren. The family has announced that a viewing will be held on Sunday, January 13 from 2pm to 4pm and 7pm to 10pm at The Bryant Funeral Home, 411 Old Town Road, East Setauket, NY, 11733, 631-413-0082. The funeral will be held Monday morning, January14.
Bill Rosemann, Marketing Communications Manager, Marvel Comics
